Education Watch

Black and Hispanic students are much less likely to be identified as “gifted” than their white and Asian counterparts — a disparity found in Oklahoma that mirrors national statistics on gifted and talented education.

A White House conference on Wednesday tackled the high discipline rates of minority and special education students. Oklahoma City Public Schools is among many districts across the nation that has seen high suspension rates of black students.

Preliminary results from Oklahoma’s third grade reading test show fewer students are at risk of retention this year. Results also show little change in the number of students who are not reading at a proficient level.

In Case You Missed It

A fourth of high schools across the state have eliminated world language classes over a decade, erasing the chances for thousands of students to acquire skills that could better prepare them for college and the job market.

Between 2012 and 2015, nine inmates in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary took their own lives, giving Oklahoma’s only state-owned maximum security prison the highest suicide rate among corrections facilities. Is solitary confinement to blame?